Vietnamesium lawn mowers

[Roert42]

were spray painted red and the motor was spray painted black. no idea why though.

Toro with a brigs motor?


I got a Honda with a 30”deck. Works great when it runs. I’ve only ever see electric ones that size recently.

 

[superj]

i just sold a riding honda my dad bought in 95 and i had used for the last 15 years. it started 100% of the time and other than trying to find the blade belt, it was the best mower i have ever had.

a buddy bought a craftsman 52" rider last year. it didn;t start for him in november or december so he asked if i wanted it for free. hell ya!!! i picked it up and the switch had gone out. it steers so much nicer than my old honda did and the parts are easily available so its my only mower now.

 

[Shran]

New gas mowers suck real bad. Really wonder why they went to the trouble of converting a horizontal shaft engine to vertical... maybe there is some gear reduction in there or something? Either way what was wrong with a good old straight vertical shaft?

I'd go take a drive through a few alleys and see who has a stack of old mowers in the backyard, then see if they'd sell you one and just fix it up. Surely you can round up an old Briggs or Tecumseh powered mower and it'll serve you well for years... those things were very hard to kill.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I have a policy that if I can’t get it with my Craftsman tractor with the 54” deck, I don’t want to have to mow it. I ended up with a free craftsman push mower last year, guy was throwing it out because it wouldn’t start. I found the gas tank full of water because the guy left the mower and the gas can with no nozzle sitting outside. Quick cleaning of everything and it runs good. I’ve been using it to get around vehicles that are sitting and the edge of the creek bank, but I really don’t like push mowing

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I got a cheap Bolens push mower from the big blue store a couple of years ago. It has a Briggs engine, but no bag, just a side chute. At the time it was well under $200, but the same mower is not far from $300 now. I use the push mower for areas too tight for my lawn tractor.

This cheapie has been one of the best push mowers I've ever owned, and it replaced a piece-of-garbage Craftsman I got from a local Sears that was going out of business. The pull start on the Bolens is the easiest I've ever used, and believe me, I've dealt with some real bears. This mower starts right up, no drama, no complaints.

You might be better off with something like this instead of trying to keep that Vietnamesium crap going. The problem with that stuff is the same as I've run into with Chinese stuff: essentially, pot metal used everywhere it should never be.

 

[Roert42]

Most reliable piece of lawn equipment I own is a “hyper tough” 20something “ I got for $25 from Walmart. 4 or 5hp brings.

The cable for the safety lever broke, it’s just a switch down by the engine, and I’ve had to weld all four wheels to the frame because the bolts pulled out of the deck.

Other than that I have never had an issue with it. Runs like a champ, filled it up with some used motor oil when I bought it, never changed it. One summer I ran it on dirty kerosene that wouldn’t burn in my kero heater.

Beats the crap out of my garbage Honda.

 

[Shran]

My push mower is a Honda self propelled bagger. I really like it, I've had two of them, they are about $6-700 new (but Honda is no longer making gas mowers.) I got one for free on the curb that had a bent crankshaft and the other was $20 at the thrift store, carb was plugged up. Straightened the crank with a sledge hammer and it was perfect - easy carb clean on the other. I really like the variable speed self propel and the blades being on a clutch is nice too. Only real complaint with the Hondas is that they are really sensitive to stale fuel. My other equipment doesn't seem to care...those Hondas just won't run.

My kid has a Walmart "Hyper Tough" push mower for his summer lawn business, it actually mows really nice and it's very light but the carb is really finicky and the plug will foul pretty quick if you run 2 stroke gas in it. I think it feels like a cheap piece of crap otherwise, I can't believe they charge over $200 for them.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I got a troy bilt with a briggs the wife bought from lowes in 2013 to replace the old whatever it was i had for years. The wife hated it...i had stuff wired up, roped up, she got so mad she went and bought the current troy bilt.

Ive ran the piss out of it...changed the oil once, never sharpen it, yet its the only small engine in my shed i can park for 6 months and it fires 3rd pull everytime.

Both my pressure washer (briggs) and leaf vac (tecumseh) are the most tempermental bitches ive ever seen


......and DO NOT get me started on my old yazoo i use at the old house.

 

[Chapap]

I'm happy with my craftsman electric. Got it for 250 and came with a string trimmer. It'll do 1/4 acre on one charge (1/8 if it's really thick). It's a bit flimsy though... does not handle contours well at all. The deck drags front and back and really the only way to get over stiff is to tip it on its side.

 

[sgtsandman]

I got a cheap Bolens push mower from the big blue store a couple of years ago. It has a Briggs engine, but no bag, just a side chute. At the time it was well under $200, but the same mower is not far from $300 now. I use the push mower for areas too tight for my lawn tractor.

This cheapie has been one of the best push mowers I've ever owned, and it replaced a piece-of-garbage Craftsman I got from a local Sears that was going out of business. The pull start on the Bolens is the easiest I've ever used, and believe me, I've dealt with some real bears. This mower starts right up, no drama, no complaints.

You might be better off with something like this instead of trying to keep that Vietnamesium crap going. The problem with that stuff is the same as I've run into with Chinese stuff: essentially, pot metal used everywhere it should never be.

Same. I wanted a mower that mulches and side discharges in case the grass gets out of control. Bolens was the only one that didn't come with a bag and I didn't want to pay for a bag I would never use.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Same. I wanted a mower that mulches and side discharges in case the grass gets out of control. Bolens was the only one that didn't come with a bag and I didn't want to pay for a bag I would never use.

Mines got a bagger but i never use it.

I purposly discharge grass into the street as it pisses the city off.

Its a form of protest

 

[Blmpkn]

Mines got a bagger but i never use it.

I purposly discharge grass into the street as it pisses the city off.

Its a form of protest

It's also not quite the safest thing for motorcyclists..

 

[Chapap]

Mines got a bagger but i never use it.

I purposly discharge grass into the street as it pisses the city off.

Its a form of protest

What are you protesting?

 

[fastpakr]

It's also not quite the safest thing for motorcyclists..

This. It can be a real problem for motorcycles.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

This. It can be a real problem for motorcycles.

Grass clippings? I didnt know that.

Guess ill quit doing it then.

I should add though ive seen 2 motorcycles on this street in the last 5 years. Plus my grass by the road is so thin its mostly grass dust...not the thick green ditch type grass. Plus its a 25mph street...which is another thing that pisses me off...ive went to meetings and bitched, talked to the police cheif, etc, and speeding is still a HUGE problem here.

I see about 3 cars an hour come through in excess of 45-50mph. They run the stop sign at one end of the street, hammer it, and slam the brakes at the T at M34.

Its usually kids.

The wife gets pissed about the loud exhausts and stereos...but im guilty of atleast the exhaust and that dont bother me personally a bit as neither of those is really a safety hazard